Carbonator



ila

INVENTOR 9A TTORNEY Patented Apr. 16, 1929.

UNITED STATESg VPAT-1i'NTO lf`-FglCE- IIENEY J. IRWIN, or JERSEY CITY, NEW JERSEY, AssiGNoR, VJar MEsNE ASSIGNMENTS,

TO THE CROWN CORK & SEAL CMPAHY, F NEW YORK.

rico., oENnwYoRmN. Y., A oonronn'r'IoN CARBONATOR.

Application' filed June 1,

The present invention relates to improvements in carbonators for ycharging beverages with carbonio acid gas, and includes a plurality of vtanks into which the liquid and gas are fed under pressure and' intimately mingled together by means of agitators, the invention being moreparticularly directed to means for removing the free air contained in the liquid which gradually accumulates in the apparatus and interferes with the proper action thereof.

Among-.the objects of the invention is to provide means for wltndrawing theffree air from the several tanks and collecting.. it ina separate chamber or trap from whichitmay be discharged in a substantially continuous manner.

For further comprehension of the invention, and of the objects and advantages thereof, reference will be had to the following de-v scription and accompanying dra-wing, and to thev appended claims in which lthe various novel features of the invention are more particularly set forth. l

'Figurel of the drawing is a side elevation of the improved carb'onator showing a general assembly of the several parts.

Figure 2 is a plan view thereof.

Figure 3 is a detail elevational view showing ther air collecting chamber and air-releas` ing means.

In the drawing numeral 1 designates a base l 1 arranged to support the lower carbonating tank 2 by means of the feet 3, a. second tank 4l being mounted upon the lower tank by similar feet 5. y v f The tanks are provided at their opposite ends with stufHng-box bearings in which are respectivelyl mounted agitator shafts 7 and 8' provided in the usualk manner with mixing blades fixed thereon and indicated by the dotted lines 9. .v

Also carried by the base 1 is a standard 10 provided with bearings arranged to rotatively .supply or level of liquid therein being regusupport the shafts 11 and 12. upon which are 1927. Serial'No; 195,693.

that of the fast pulley is of less width, whereby `when the belt is shifted to the loose pulley the shaft 11A is inoperative, and when shifted to the fast pulley both the looseA pulley `and shaft are jointly rotatable.

Forshifting the belt 17 a double arm lever 20 is pivotally mounted intermediate its ends on the bracket 21, fixed upon the standard 10, the upper end of the lever having a looped member '22 engaging the opposite side edges of the belt, while the lower end of the lever is pivotally connected to one end of a connection rod 23, the opposite end of the rod being hingedly connected to the lower end of'an operating lever 24, pivotally mounted for swinging movement upon a pin 25 carried by an upright bracket 26, the latter being lixedto the base 1. At its upper end the operating lever 24 is provided with oppositelyextending arms, onethereof Carrying a regulating container 27 andthe other a counterweight 28, the several parts being operated by the variation in height of the liquid within lthe lower tank 2. l

For supplying the liquid to be carbonated, a pump`29'is fixedly secured to the standard 10 and provided with the usual inlet andeutlet connections, the latter connection being indicated by the vpipe 3()V leading upwardly and delivering into the top of the upper tank 4l, the

lated bythe overflow pipe `31, the upper open end of which is located below the upper' wall of the tank to provide'a space for the release of the air entrained in the circulation of the liquid. The lower end of the overflow pipe leads into and provides the necessary means for supplying liquid to the llower tank 2, and from which latter tank thecarbonated liquid may be drawn olf in the usual manner as shown 'i by they valve controlled lpipe 32. In its assage `through the tank 2. the liquid ows through the flexible tube 33 and into .the confl tainer 27 wherein it tends to lind a level corresponding to that withinthe tank, and as such level varies in accordance. with the rate at which the carbonated liquid is drawn off, a corresponding variation of level will Vbe had inthe container 27, thus serving to vary the weight thereof, and effecting a raising and lowering action throughk the operating lever 2l to rock the latterand shift the belt 17 over the fast and loose pulleys 19 and 18 and thereby alternatelyvoperate and arrest the action ofv pump 29. To provideviior free circulation et the liquid between the container 27 and its vconnected tank, a flexible vent pipe 34 communi- Y,

cates between the top walls ot the container and tank.

" Carbonating gas is supplied to the tanks by means or" a riserpipe 35 having` branches 36 and 37 leading respectively to the upper and lower tanks, the several pipes `being shown in part in dotted lines together with the regulating valves therefor. Vl? or mixing the gas and liquid together the agitator shafts 7 and 8, carrying the blades 9, are provided at one end with chain wheels 38 connected together with a driving chain and for transmitting power to the upper agitator shaft 8 a chain-wheel 40 is detachably connected at one end'thereot and driven by the chain 41 from the smaller wheel 42, tired upon the hub of the continuously rotating` loose pulley 18, the larger wheel being provided with a clutch device 43 whereby its driven shai't 8 be disconnected therefrom while the wheel continues to loosely rotate thereon, and thus provide means 'tor arresting the agitator blades and the mechanical mixing ot liquid and gas within the tanks. As shown in ull lines in Fig. l, the driving belt 17 engages the tast pulley 19 which drives through the gears 13 and 14 to rotate shatt- 12, on the outer end ot whicn is secured a crank-disc 44, having its crank pin connected through the rod 4V) to the lpiston stem 46 of the pump 29 for the operation of the latter, the connection between the adjacent ends ot' Vthe rod and stem being vert'cally idable in the usual manner within the lined guide Vmember 47 secured to the standard 10. It will' be clear that during the. peration ot the pump the loose pulley 18 will also rotated by the overlapping position ot the belt 17 on the said loose pulley. As the tank 2 becomes lilled to a predetermined level by the action of the pump, the liquid will correspondingly rise in the container 2T and over balance the counterweight 28 and cause the arm 24 to swing about its pivotal support 25 and operate through the connection rod to swing the belt lever 2O and shit't the belt 1T to a position on the loose pulley 18 clear et the fast pulley 19, and thus stop the action of the pump.

During the carbonating operation the liq `uid as ted under pressure from the pump to the several tanks tends during` mixing action to release a certain amount of entrained free air that gradually rises and accumulates in the space at the top of the upper tank and inn terferes in a measure with the effective operation of the apparatus. For removing this air Afrom the several tanks` a separate air Y chamber or trap 48 is provided having at its lower enda coupling connection 49 provided with lan air pipe 50 extending upwardly therefrom to a point near the upper end o't the chamber adjacent the side wall thereof, the

opposite ends ot the pipe beingopen to admit the air at the top, and discharge it at the bottom into the valve-case 51, the latter be- Ving detachably secured at itsupper end to the coupling connection by Yan ordinary screwed union 52 in a manner to effect a close joint against the pressure within the chamber 48. At its lower end the case is provided with a seat to receive the valve 53, the same being 'termed with a stem 54 projecting thra the bottom wall of the case, and within the latter a compression spring 55 is mounted and arranged to effect at its opposite ends a pressure respectively against the lower face of the coupling connection 49 and valve 53 to yieldingly holdV the latter in closed position against its seat. or the support et the several parts a bracket 5G is provided, the upper end thereof being secured to the valve-case 51 while its lower end is fixed to the bracket bearing 5'? in which latter is rotatively supported tl e inner end oi shalt 11. Loo ly mounted on the latter shalt and in lined relation with the chain wheel 42 is a cam 58, rotatable with the belt pulley 18, and engaging the cam is a lever 59 pivotally supported by the ln'acket 56, a contact screw 6() l i' g adjustably threaded in the lever and disposed to engage the projecting valve-stein 54 and open the valve at each revolution cthe cam in opposition to the spring 55, the latter closing the valve upon the release of the cam.

Leading into the upper end otair chamber 48 is an air or vapory pipe '51 having a connection G2 lea-ding trom'the air or vapor space in the top of tank 4, the pipe being` preferably coiled as indicated at 61a. During` the open periods oi'' the relierC valve 53, the pressure within the tank forces the tree air or vapor into theY chamber 48, thence through the air pipe 50, valve-case 51 and discharges into the atmosphere through the 'tree passage formed by the contracted portion of the valve case and loosely ,fitting valve stem 54, the amount ot discharge at each opening movement of the valve being regulated by the contact screw (30 Y which may be adjusted by its screw thread to engage the valve stem and lift the valve to vvariable heights by the action of the cam 58. The air and vapor passing through the pipe ,61 is directed downwardly into the chamber where the condensed vapor may settle to the bottom as indicated at 53 and be periodically drawn ott by the cock 64, allowing essentially the free-air to be discharged through the re lief valve into the atmosphere. Communicating between the interior spaces at the top of the tanks 2 and 4 is a vent pipe 65 by means o'f which the free air and vapor arisn ing in the lower tank may readily pass to the upper tank 4 and be discharged therefrom through the relief valve 53. l

A drain pipe G6 and a safety valve 67 are provided for vthe upper tank 4, and the usual mounting including pressure and liquid to secure by Letters Patent, is z' l. In a machine for carbona'ting liquids including a carbonating tank, an air chamber disposed adjacent thereto and having an inlet connection at one end leading from said tank, a valve casing at the opposite end of said chamber, an air pipe within said chamber, one of the ends thereof'opening into the valve case and the opposite end opening into said air chamber adjacent to and in disalinement with said inlet connection, and a relief valve in said casing. Y c

2. An air and vapor chamber having an inlet connection at one end, a valve case at the opposite end thereof, an air Ipipe within said chamber, one of the ends thereof opening into the valve case and the opposite end opening into said chamber adjacent to and in disalinement with said inlet connection, and a relief valve in said casing..

3. In a carbonating tank, means for supplying liquid to said tank and forming therein a vapor and air space above the Vlevel of said liquid, an air chamber supported independentlj7 of said tank and having a pipe connection leading from said vapor and air space, means within said air chamber for separating the air and moisture in said vapor, and means for separately discharging said air and moisture. j

4. In a carbonating machine, a plurality of mixing tanks supported one above the other, common means for supplying liquid to said tanks and forming thereln vapor and air spacesabove the level of the liquid supplied thereto, the said vapor and air spaces communicating with one another, an air chamberv supported independently of said tanks and having a pipe connection leadin from the vapor and air space of the upper o said tanks, 1

means within said air chamber for separating` the air and moisture in said'vapor, and means for separatelyV discharging said air and moisture l5. In a carbonating tank, means for supplying liquid to said tank and forming therein a vapor and air space above the level of the liquid supplied thereto, agitating means in -said tank, an air chamber supportedinde-Vv pendently of said tank and having a pipe connection leading'from the vapor` and air space of said tank, means Within said air chamber for separating the air and moisture in said vapor, and means for separately dis-k charging said air and moisture.

6. In a carbonating tank, means for supplyingliquid to said tank and forming therein a vapor and air space above the level of the liquid supplied thereto, a power shaft for actuatingsaid liquid supplying means, an

air chamber supported independently of saidk tank and having a 'pipe connection leading from ,the vapor and air space of said tank,

means Within said air chamber for separating the air and moisture in said, vapor, and an air discharge valve connected to said air chamber and actuated by said power shaft.

7 In a` machine .for carbonating liquids inf" cluding a carbonating tank, an air chamber disposed adjacent thereto and having an inlet connection at one end leading from said tank,v

a valve casing at the opposite end of said chamber, an lair pipe within said chamber,y

one of the ends thereofopening into the valve case and the opposite end opening into said air chamber adjacent to and in disalinement with said inlet connection, a relief valve in said casing, and means for periodically actuating said. relief valve. Y

Signed at New York in the countyof New York and State of New York'this 26th day vof May, A. D. 1927. f

HENRY J. IRWIN. y 

